How close can a heat light be to chicks?

[Lula]

I am a first time chick owner and getting things set up for my soon to arrive chicks. I have been setting up and to get the temp high enough I have to put the lamp pretty close to the "floor." I don't want the little guys burning themselves so the question is; can the heat lamp be too close? How many inches of clearance do they need between the bulb and the floor?

 

[Cackling Hen]

Hi can you post a picture of your brooder box i always have my heat lamp pretty far up so the shavings, box dont catch fire and the chicks wont get burnt? say mine is a good 3-4 feet up maybe more

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

First off lift it up away from the floor second how much room between the floor and the top of the brooder do you have?

Don't worry about the temps trust me on this one they say 90- 100* that is bull trust me I had a 90 watt bulb in my brooder for 2 bunchs fixin to be a third here real soon (my second bunch went to the coop today)any ways the chicks will tell you if they are to cold they will be right under so lower it and if they want no part of it and are as far away as they can get from the light it is to hot raise it but if they are running around and chirping then it is just right that is all you need to do about temps watch them and do what they show you...



Good Luck

 

[Lula]

I am starting them in a 4x4 foot box with 24 inch high sides. It has a few layers of newspaper and a few inches of Aspen shavings on the bottom. It is in my studio space in my house. I have a screen cover that fits on the top. My husband built a height adjuster for the heat lamp because I didn't an easy way to get it centered firmly over the box.(and my kids wanted easy sight lines to keep watch on "their chicks")

The floor feels cold to me so I put several layers of padding underneath the entire box. I put a candle in the bottom of the box(prior to the shavings) and the flame barely flickers so I hope drafts are not a problem.

I have had the heat lamp on all day and the temp seemed ok but when I tested it with a thermometer I had to get the lamp within 18 inches of the floor to get a reading of 90 by the floor. This seemed too close to me.

The lamp uses a red 250 watt bulb with a metal shield on the sides.

We are getting just three chicks so I think the space will be ok for a bit, I have larger sizes I will move them into as they grow but are still too young to be outside.( we live in MN, nights are still chilly) I am concerned about heat because we will only have three little bodies in the space and because I'm a paranoid chick newbie!

Thanks for the replies, will try to post pics later!

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

You think it will only be three............. Yeah I said that 12 chicks ago and am talking wife into more now....but you will be fine as I said they will tell you if they are to hot or cold and belive me by the end of 4-6 weeks you will want them outside(and they should be ready for it) trust that.
I put all of mine in the big coop at 4-5 weeks if they had enough feathers on them you will know ho wmuch is enough but I warn you now they are like your first child you will want to watch them every minute of the day and take an ungodly amount of pictures (which you will want to post here for us all to see) but they should be alright sounds like you have done everything right now. so Good luck and enjoy your new chicks.
Oh you do need one more thing a comfy chair to watch your chicken TV in.

P.S. I almost forgot Hello and

from the GREAT STATE OF TEXAS!!! Y'ALL

 

[EggsForIHOP]

This is our brooder - I call it the baby box I guess it's about 3 1/2 feet by 4 feet and maybe 2 foot plus tall (not a real pull out the tape measure kinda gal) I actually just set the heat lamp on top and they were all good to go! They were about a week old when I brought them home and so far...knock on wood...we are 11 for 11 in the survivor department - so I guess it's part luck and part doing something right.

On top is the watch cat - she has learned to stay off the wire however!

Sounds mean - but until it happened I hadn't thought it out...she stepped on it right next to the light and it musta been hot (there is a 1/2 inch square hardware cloth wire cover on the top)! She howled and ran off to hide (I checked, no wounds, but she learned her lesson!) Now she prowls the edges and dreams of chicken dinners I am sure, but she stays off of the wire part.

Also, we have tile floors and it just has a thin wooden bottom - no issues - they move around when they need to. My sister warned me they would sleep in a pile - and they did at first - though they spread out more now. It was precious! But I would have been worried if she hadn't warned me! I guess it helps that it's by a window - in the morning I open the blinds and some wander over to the sunlight to bask in it. We have just started using the AC in the daytime and they aren't near any vents, but tend to nap under the lamp or in the sunshine if they are inside with me (I sleep in the daytime and work at night - so they do afternoon outings in the sun).

OH! I also keep the food and water on the far side away from the lamp - don't want to boil their water! More than likely you already had that figured out - but thought I would throw it in because it was a clever revelation for me They seem to self adjust as needed - first couple of days mainly under the lamp or in the sunny part and now less and less of that. No expert, but figured I could share what I had learned. Good luck!

 

[robk0220]

our brooder is 4 x 4 and 12" high. I start our lamp 18" from the litter. and we just brooded a batch of 41 in there.

they just moved out to the coop last wednesday. they're 4 weeks old now, and I have 2 heat lamps in the coop for them.

 

[GermanChick]

Our brooder is 5x3 (24 inches high)for our 16 chicks. We also use a 250w red heat lamp and have it fairly close to them, but the brooder is big enough so they can choose where they are comfortable. Some lay right under the lamp and some back in a corner. They are all spread out .... I guess they are happy

They are two weeks now and I will move the lamp on top of the brooder just like EggsForIHOP showed in the picture.

 

[Jones5]

Great setup!

 

[Firsttimechickmom2]

First off lift it up away from the floor second how much room between the floor and the top of the brooder do you have?

Don't worry about the temps trust me on this one they say 90- 100* that is bull trust me I had a 90 watt bulb in my brooder for 2 bunchs fixin to be a third here real soon (my second bunch went to the coop today)any ways the chicks will tell you if they are to cold they will be right under so lower it and if they want no part of it and are as far away as they can get from the light it is to hot raise it but if they are running around and chirping then it is just right that is all you need to do about temps watch them and do what they show you...



Good Luck

Thank you! That was really helpful